Women In Adventure Panellists

Women In Adventure Panellists

Hayley Lever
Director of Sport

A keen fell runner, cyclist, and adventure seeker, Hayley grew up in Coventry, and was first introduced to adventures outdoors through youth club and school. At 18, she took the opportunity to spread her wings; cycling around New Zealand, sailing across the Tasman Sea, camping, and travelling. This experience set the course for the future, and adventures have been a regular part of life ever since.

Hayley, Co-Director of Derbyshire Sport, is passionate about inspiring young people to be active and seek adventure in their lives; believing that spending time outdoors and having adventures is vital to growing children. Self-esteem, a love of nature and wild places, along with amazing physical and mental health benefits, are just a few of the to encourage young people.

Jo Gunston
Publisher, SportsLiberated.com

Jo publishes a website and sport-specific digital magazines at www.sportsliberated.com. The latest free digital magazine, 'The Women in Adventure Issue', will be online ahead of the International Adventure Conference. Having worked for a decade for the likes of BBC Sport, The Sunday Times, Sport magazine and Women in Sport magazine, Jo has been in the thick of it in regards to coverage of women's sport in various media. She has also co-hosted a women's sport radio show for Sheffield Live and been a guest on various BBC Radio Sheffield shows. An absolute sport fanatic, Jo's sporting life began as an elite gymnast, she's been to a gazillion events from the British Grand Prix to the Australian Open tennis to Tough Guy, with her crowning glory taking part as a dancer in the London 2012 opening ceremony (which she'll tell you all about given half a chance). Her interest in adventure sport was piqued after ambling along to the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival one year and being blown away by the stories being told. She's now been three years in a row and has to have the microphone wrestled off her when it comes to questions from the audience...

Cressida Allwood

Cressida is a round the world cyclist, women’s leadership coach and tutor. She spent two years cycling in 3 continents: starting in Pakistan and finishing in South America, having ridden the spine of the Andes. Cress is a passionate advocate of ongoing personal and professional development, having 25 years of experience in the education and management training sectors. Cress brings drive, a curious mind and significant expertise to her roles, coaching and tutoring nationally accredited courses. With a master’s thesis on ‘Gender and Leadership’ Cress is currently researching Gender Parity for the Institute of Outdoor Learning; engaging both sexes to collaboratively create models of good practice. To compliment her ‘day jobs’ Cress spends 2-3 months leading overseas expeditions each year. After 15 years of incredible trips, often at altitude and in remote destinations, she still loves inspiring tomorrow’s leaders. Her latest adventure sees her swimming across the English Channel in September - being the organiser of a female relay team. As a ‘recreational swimmer’ this will be a significant personal challenge!

Hannah Myres,Flare Clothing

Hannah started Flare Clothing Co. mountain bike clothing in 2014 after feeling unsatisfied with the options for women on the market. She introduced a range clothing that is high-tech, that fits flatteringly and comfortably while looking the part in an extreme sports setting. Hannah has been named as one of the top 100 influential women in the UK cycling industry by trade publication BikeBiz.

Dr Kaye Richards,Liverpool John Moores Univesity

Dr Kaye Richards (CPsychol) is Senior Lecturer in Outdoor Education at Liverpool John Moores University and a Chartered Psychologist of the British Psychological Society. She has worked and published widely across the areas of outdoor education, outdoor leadership, adventure therapy, and counselling and psychotherapy, with a specialist focus on women and young people. Her research activity crosses a range of outdoor adventure and sport based areas, currently including outdoor therapy, impacts of expeditions on young people, mental health and the outdoors, and she led key research components of Sport England's pilot campaign, I Will If You Will (IWIYW), aiming to understand women’s behaviour and attitudes to sport and physical activity, with the results being used to create 'This Girl Can'. She is also an editorial board member of the academic Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning (previously being the launching co-editor). Contact: k.e.richards@ljmu.ac.uk

Helen TurtonNewland Expeditions

Helen Turton has been brought up on a diet of hillwalking in her ‘back garden’ of the Peak District, from almost the point when she first learnt to walk! From classroom teacher, to running outdoor residential centres, and leading on adult and young people´s expeditions in as far-flung places as Svalbard in the north to South Georgia and the Falklands in the south, Helen accidentally got into cross country skiing just 9 years ago. She is now more likely to be found at the North Pole, South Pole, Greenland or anywhere cold, staying in a tent igloo or snowhole, than actually living in her own home!
’Life is happening now – live it’ is the strapline for the company www.newland.no that she now runs with her Norwegian colleagues - specialising in guiding and logistics in the polar regions.

Mina Leslie-Wujastyk

Mina has been rock climbing since she was a child and has never stopped loving the sport. From international bouldering competitions to sport climbing and bouldering around the world, there is so much diversity in climbing to keep her motivated and psyched.